Shoe and method of making the same



' May 18, 1943 C. w. BAKER SHOES AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME FiledJune 23, 1942 Patented May 18, 1943 SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAMEGorwin W. Baker, Stoneham, Mass, assignor to United Shoe MachineryCorporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationJune 23, 1942, Serial No. 4481,078

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoes and methods of makingthe same.

In the manufacture of welt shoes it is customary to employ an insolehaving an upstanding sewing rib and usually the rib is reinforced by astrip or layer of canvas or the like which is cemented to the inner sideof the rib and to the insole surface adjacent to the inner side of therib. After the inseam has been sewn the rib, and the upper materialswhich have been secured to the rib by the inseam, are trimmed and leftin upstanding positions and suitable filling material is employed tofill the bottom cavity bounded by the rib.

In order to simplify the operations incident to the reinforcing of theinsole rib and to reduce the expense incident to such operations, thepresent invention involves the provision, upon the inner face of the riband the adjacent surface of the body of the insole, of a reinforcinglayer or film of hardened plastic or resinous material. In accordancewith the present invention, after the inseam has been sewn and thestitches have been anchored in the resinous reinforcing layer, thelatter is softened and the rib, together with the portion of the uppermargin which has been secured to it, are deflected or bent inwardly anddownwardly until the rib lies in a substantially fiat condition upon theinsole body and the softened resinous reinforcing material between theflattened rib and the insole is permitted to harden and set whereupon itserves adhesively to secure the under side of the rib to the body of theinsole. The inseam stitches are thus anchored in the hardened resinousmaterial and the rib is securely bonded, in its fiat condition, to theinsole and permanently. held against any tendency to be erected by thepull of the inseam stitches in such a way as to relieve the tension onthe upper and alter the shape of the shoe. The hardened resinousmaterial thus serves not only to provide reinforcement for the rib and asecure anchorage for the inseam stitches but also, by positivelyretaining the rib in its flattened condition, to enhance theshape-holding qualities of the shoe.

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ribbed insole of atype particularly adapted for use in the practice of the method of thepresent invention, the insole being shown with its ribbed face uppermostin the position it occupies when it is incorporated in a lasted shoe;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken alongthe line IIII of Fig. .1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a welt shoe in process of construction,the view being partly in cross-section and partly in perspective andshowing the shoe as it appears at the completion of the inseaming orwelting operation;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the shoe showing theoperation of laying the insole rib and the lasting margin of the upper;and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the shoe as it appearsafter the outsole has been attached.

The invention has been illustrated with reference to its application tothe manufacture of shoes having ribbed insoles of the type disclosed inUnited States Letters Patent 2,268,561, granted January 6, 1942, uponapplication of the present inventor although it is to be understoodother types of ribbed insoles may be employed. In the drawing the insoleis indicated at H] and the rib at 12. The rib l2 comprises two lips l4and I6 which are formed by two inside channels l8 and 20 cut in thebottom surface of the insole at a slight angle to the surface. The twolips are secured together in raised positions by means of cement, asindicated at 22, to form a unitary upstanding sewing rib and the rib ispreferably formed and set by molding or otherwise so that it istransversely shaped and disposed with respect to the body of the insoleas best shown in Fig. 2.

The insole I0 is reinforced by an adherent layer 24 in the form of afilm or coating of synthetic resin, the film or coating being applied tothe inner side of the rib l2 and to the adjacent surface of the bodyportion of the insole. As shown, the reinforcing layer 24 is extendedinwardly a short distance beyond the inner edge of the channel l8 foruse in securing to the insole body the untrimmed marginal portion of theupper which extends beyond the rib.

Advantageously, the resinous layer 24 is applied in the form of asolution which is sprayed or brushed upon the insole and allowed to dry,although'other methods such asthe application of molten resin may beemployed. Various examples of the resinous material employed are givenbelow.

' Example I The resinous material is Vinylite resin VYNW, a product ofthe Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation of New York, which Iunderstand to be a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetatecontaining about 95% vinyl chloride.

If the resin is applied as a solution, the following solution may besprayed upon or applied with a brush to the insole to produce the resultshown in Fig. 2.

Parts by weight Vinylite resin VYNW 7.50 Proplyene oxide 79.25Plasticizer 3 GH 3.25 Isophorone 10.00

Plasticizer 3 GE is a product of the Carbide and Carbon ChemicalsCorporation, which I understand to be a diphenyl benzyl benzoate.

Example II The resinous material is Vinylite VYNS, a product of theCarbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation, which I understand to be acopolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate containing about 87% vinylchloride.

A suitable solution which may be sprayed or applied with a brush is asfollows:

Parts by weight Vinylite resin VYNS 16 Santicizer 8 Cellosolve Acetone61 Santicizer #10 is' a productof the Monsanto Chemical Company of St.Louis, Missouri, which I understand to be o-cresyl p-toluene sulfonate.

Example III In case the solution is used as a spray, the sam formula maybe used except that the content; of XYSG resin will be only 7 parts byweight.

Example IV The resinous material is polyvinyl alcohol. A suitablesolution which may be sprayed or applied with a brush is as follows:

' Parts by weight Polyvinyl alcohol (high viscosity) 5.0 R. H. 539 2.5Water 92.5

Example V The resinous material is ethyl cellulose. A suitable solutionwhich may be sprayed or applied with a brush is as follows:

Parts by weight Ethyl cellulose (high viscosity) 6.0 Dow Plasticizer No.6 .9

Toluol 74.5 Ethyl alcohol 18.6

Example VI The resin is the resin put out by the Bakelite Company of NewYork, N. Y., under the designation XR11617, which I understand to beequal parts of polymerized vinyl acetate and a plasticizer whichconsists of the reaction product of phthalyl chloride and methylsalicylate. This resin may be melted and applied with a brush.

In the manufacture of a shoe in which an insole such as the insole l0above described is to be incorporated, the insole is assembled togetherwith an upper 26 (Fig. 3) upon a last 28, the upper is worked over thelast and the margin of the upper is secured in overlasted position tothe rib l2 of the insole as by means of staples 30. Thereafter a welt 32is secured to the upper and to the insole rib by means of inseamstitches 34. The resinous reinforcing layer 24, which extends at 25inwardly beyond the channel I8 is then softened and the rib l2, togetherwith the portion of the upper which overlies it (and which, as shown,extends inwardly more or less beyond the rib), are pressed downwardlyuntil the rib and the portion of the upper extending beyond it, lie fiatagainstthe body of the insole. As indicated at 36 in Fig. 3, thesoftening of the resinous reinforcing layer l8 may be accomplished bythe spraying thereon of a suitable solvent for the resinous substance orthe solvent may be applied by means ofa brush. In the various examplesof resinous material above referred to the substances are of athermoplastic nature and accordingly the softening of the substance maybe accomplished by the application of heat thereto by means, forexample, of a heated hand tool such as that shown at 38 in Fig. 4, thetool being shaped at one end to enter and substantially to fill thechannel between the rib and the insole body and being progressivelydrawn along throughout the length of the channel. After the resinouslayer has been softened by the use of the tool 38 the rib and the uppermay be pressed down by drawing the bottom face 40 of the tool along themargin of the upper while at the same time pressing the tool downwardlyto force the rib and the upper material extending beyond the rib intointimate engagement with the insole. As a practical matter theoperations of softening th resinous layer and the securing of the riband the upper to the insole by the softened resinous material may bothbe accomplished at a single operation by merely pressing the rib and theupper toward the insole by'means of a heated presser member such, forexample, as the hand tool already described,

the heat from the tool softening the resinous in United States LettersPatent No. 2,095,245,,

granted October 12, 1937, upon application of S. J. Finn.

The softened resinous material will quickly become dry or set and therib, and the portion of the upper margin which extends beyond it, willbe securely bonded to the insole in such a manner that it will bepermanently held against any strains tending to erect the rib. Thus theupper will be retained in its tensioned condition upon the last and theshape imparted to the shoe by the lasting operation will be permanentlypreserved. The insole rib and the overlasted upper being retained in aflat condition upon the shoe bottom, as shown in Fig. 4, little if anyfilling material need be employed to provide a level bottom for thereception of the outsole 42 which is now laid in place and secured bymeans of outseam stitches M, or by means of cement, to the welt 32.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in the manufacture of shoes which consists inproviding the inner face of the sewing rib and the adjacent surface ofthe body portion of a ribbed insole with a coating of plastic materialin a dry or hardened condition thereby reinforcing said rib, assemblingsaid insole and an upper on a last, tensioning the upper over the lastand securing the margin of the upper in overlasted position upon theinsole, stitching the overlasted upper margin, together with a welt, tothe rib of the insole, softening said coating and laying the coated ribsubstantially flat against the coated portion of the insole body, andallowing said coating to become hardened or set and thereby renderedeffective to secure the rib permanently in its substantially flatcondition to the insole.

2. That improvement in the manufacture of shoes which consists inproviding the inner face of the sewing rib and the adjacent surface ofthe body portion of a ribbed insole with a coating of plastic materialin a dry or hardened condition thereby reinforcing said rib, assemblingsaid insole and an upper on a last, tensioning the upper over the lastand securing the margin of the upper in overlasted position upon theinsole, stitching the overlasted upper margin, together with a welt, .tothe rib of the insole, applying a heated presser member to said rib andthereby laying the rib in a flattened condition upon the insole body andsoftening the plastic material, and allowing the softened material toset or harden thereby permanently to secure the rib to the insole.

3. That improvement in the manufacture of shoes which comprises coatingthe inner side of the sewing rib and the adjacent body portion of aninsole with a synthetic resin solution and allowing the solution tobecome dry and thereby to serve as a reinforcement for said rib,assembling the insole together with an upper on a last, tensioning theupper over the last and securing the margin of the tensioned upper inoverlasted position upon the insole, securing a welt together with theupper to said rib by inseam stitches, softening said synthetic resin,bending the coated rib toward said coated body portion of the insole,and pressing said parts together while allowing said coating to becomehardened or set and thus rendered efiective to hold the rib against anytendency to be erected by the pull of the tensioned upper and providinga substantially level shoe bottom for the reception of an outsole.

4. That improvement in the manufacture of shoes which consists inproviding the inner face of the rib and the adjacent surface of the bodyof a ribbed insole with a coating of plastic material in a dry orhardened condition, assembling on a last said insole and an upper havinga lasting margin of sufiicient width to extend beyond the upper edge ofsaid rib, tensioning the upper over the last and securin said margin inoverlasted position upon the insole, securing said margin together witha welt to said rib by inseam stitches, softening said coating and layingsaid rib together with that portion of the upper margin which extendsbeyond the rib against the softened coating upon the surface of theinsole body, and holding said parts in place while permitting saidcoating to harden orset and thereby render it effective to secure therib and the upper to the body of the insole.

5. That improvement in the manufacture of shoes which comprisesproviding an insole having two inner marginal channels and two raisedmarginal channel lips disposed one above the other, the lips beingsecured together by cement to form a sewing rib, providing a film ofhardened synthetic resin upon the lower or inner side of the rib andupon the adjacent surface of the body of the insole, assembling ona lastsaid insole together with an upper having a lasting margin of sufficientwidth to extend beyond the free edge of said rib, tensioning the upperover the last and securing the margin of the tensioned upper inoverlasted position upon the insole, securing the upper together withawelt to said rib by means of inseam stitches, softening said film ofsynthetic resin and pressing said rib and the extension of the uppermargin downwardly against the cemented body portionof' the insole, andallowing said resin to harden or set to secure the rib and the upper tothe insole.

6. A shoe comprising an insole having an integral marginal lip extendinginwardly from its edge portion and disposed with its outer facesubstantially flush with the lower face of the insole, an upper havingan inturned margin overlying said lip, an adherent layer of syntheticresin between said lip and the insole body permanently securing saidparts together, a welt, and inseam stitches extending through the welt,the upper and said lip and having their inner portions anchored in saidlayer, and an outsole secured to said welt.

7. A shoe comprising an insole having an integral marginal lip extendinginwardly fro-m its edge portion and disposed with its outer facesubstantially flush with the lower face of the insole, an upper havingan inturned margin overlying said lip and extending inwardly beyond theinner edge of said lip, a film of hardened plastic material between saidlip and the insole body and between said upper margin and said insolebody inwardly of said lip, said film reinforcing said lip and securingthe lip and the upper permanently to the insole body, a welt, inseamstitches extending through the welt, the upper, and the lip and havingtheir inner portions anchored in said hardened plastic material, and anoutsole secured to said welt,

8. A sho comprising an insole having two inner channels extendingobliquely to substantially the same depth into the insole material andforming two channel lips having outer surface portions substantiallyflushwith the lower side of the insole, means securing said lipstogether, a film of hardened plastic material between said inner lip andthe insole body securing said parts together, a welt, inseam stitchesextending through the welt, the upper, and said lips and having theirinner portions anchored in said pl-aiitic material, and an outsolesecured to said we CORWIN W. BAKER.

